Birgitta Frohm

Correlation between sperm motility and sperm chromatin structure assay parameters

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between chromatin structure and sperm motility. DESIGN Cross-sectional prospective study. SETTING Scanian Andrology Centre, Malmö, Sweden; ENEA Casaccia, Rome, Italy; and Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. PATIENT(S) One hundred seventy-one males from Danish first pregnancy planner couples (group 1) and 278 Swedish military conscripts (group 2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameters, DNA fragmentation index (DFI), high DNA stainable (HDS), and sperm motility, which was evaluated manually and by use of computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA). RESULT(S) A statistically significant negative correlation between DFI and the CASA percentage of motile sperms (group 1: r = -0.53; group 2: r = -0.38) was found. For the manual motility assessment, the correlation coefficients were slightly lower. Furthermore, HDS correlated negatively with CASA sperm motility (group 1: r = -0.39; group 2: r = -0.36) and percentage of World Health Organization category A motile sperm. In multiple linear regression analysis, concentration and SCSA parameters, but not the time of abstinence, were statistically significant predictors of sperm motility. CONCLUSION(S) There is a moderate correlation between sperm motility and SCSA parameters. The study supports the assumption that both SCSA and motility can be relatively independent predictors of male fertility.

Differences in nucleation behavior underlie the contrasting aggregation kinetics of the Aβ40 and Aβ42 peptides

Significance Alzheimers disease and several related disorders are associated with the assembly of specific proteins into ordered fibrillar aggregates. In Alzheimers disease, the key component of pathological aggregates, the Aβ peptide, is produced from a precursor protein in variable lengths: Aβ40 is more abundant and Aβ42 more aggregation-prone. To shed light on the molecular basis of disease progression, the aggregation process has been studied in vitro. New theoretical models allow us to relate kinetic measurements to the rates of the individual processes underlying the aggregation reaction. We find that the loss of two residues in Aβ40 relative to Aβ42 significantly slows nucleation of aggregates in solution, thereby shifting the mechanism yet more strongly towards nucleation on the surface of fibrils. The two major forms of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide found in plaques in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Aβ40 and Aβ42, only differ by two amino acids in the C-terminal region, yet they display markedly different aggregation behavior. The origins of these differences have remained challenging to connect to specific molecular-level processes underlying the aggregation reaction. In this paper we use a general strategy to apply the conventional workflow of chemical kinetics to the aggregation of the Aβ40 peptide to identify the differences between Aβ40 and Aβ42 in terms of the microscopic determinants of the aggregation reaction. Our results reveal that the major source of aggregates in the case of Aβ40 is a fibril-catalyzed nucleation process, the multistep nature of which is evident through its saturation behavior. Moreover, our results show that the significant differences in the observed behavior of the two proteins originate not simply from a uniform increase in all microscopic rates for Aβ42 compared with Aβ40, but rather are due to a shift of more than one order of magnitude in the relative importance of primary nucleation versus fibril-catalyzed secondary nucleation processes. This analysis sheds light on the microscopic determinants of the aggregation behavior of the principal forms of Aβ and outlines a general approach toward achieving an understanding at the molecular level of the aberrant deposition of insoluble peptides in neurodegenerative disorders.

A molecular chaperone breaks the catalytic cycle that generates toxic Aβ oligomers.

Alzheimers disease is an increasingly prevalent neurodegenerative disorder whose pathogenesis has been associated with aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42). Recent studies have revealed that once Aβ42 fibrils are generated, their surfaces effectively catalyze the formation of neurotoxic oligomers. Here we show that a molecular chaperone, a human Brichos domain, can specifically inhibit this catalytic cycle and limit human Aβ42 toxicity. We demonstrate in vitro that Brichos achieves this inhibition by binding to the surfaces of fibrils, thereby redirecting the aggregation reaction to a pathway that involves minimal formation of toxic oligomeric intermediates. We verify that this mechanism occurs in living mouse brain tissue by cytotoxicity and electrophysiology experiments. These results reveal that molecular chaperones can help maintain protein homeostasis by selectively suppressing critical microscopic steps within the complex reaction pathways responsible for the toxic effects of protein misfolding and aggregation.

Food Chain Transport of Nanoparticles Affects Behaviour and Fat Metabolism in Fish

Nano-sized (10−9–10−7 m) particles offer many technical and biomedical advances over the bulk material. The use of nanoparticles in cosmetics, detergents, food and other commercial products is rapidly increasing despite little knowledge of their effect on organism metabolism. We show here that commercially manufactured polystyrene nanoparticles, transported through an aquatic food chain from algae, through zooplankton to fish, affect lipid metabolism and behaviour of the top consumer. At least three independent metabolic parameters differed between control and test fish: the weight loss, the triglycerides∶cholesterol ratio in blood serum, and the distribution of cholesterol between muscle and liver. Moreover, we demonstrate that nanoparticles bind to apolipoprotein A-I in fish serum in-vitro, thereby restraining them from properly utilising their fat reserves if absorbed through ingestion. In addition to the metabolic effects, we show that consumption of nanoparticle-containing zooplankton affects the feeding behaviour of the fish. The time it took the fish to consume 95% of the food presented to them was more than doubled for nanoparticle-exposed compared to control fish. Since many nano-sized products will, through the sewage system, end up in freshwater and marine habitats, our study provides a potential bioassay for testing new nano-sized material before manufacturing. In conclusion, our study shows that from knowledge of the molecular composition of the protein corona around nanoparticles it is possible to make a testable molecular hypothesis and bioassay of the potential biological risks of a defined nanoparticle at the organism and ecosystem level.

Semenogelins I and II bind zinc and regulate the activity of prostate-specific antigen

In semen, the gel proteins SgI and SgII (semenogelins I and II) are digested by PSA (prostate-specific antigen), resulting in liquefaction and release of motile spermatozoa. Semen contains a high concentration of Zn2+, which is known to inhibit the protease activity of PSA. We characterized the binding of Zn2+ to SgI and SgII and found evidence that these proteins are involved in regulating the activity of PSA. Intact SgI and SgII and synthetic semenogelin peptides were used in the experiments. Binding of Zn2+ was studied by radioligand blotting, titration with a zinc (II) fluorophore chelator and NMR analysis. A chromogenic substrate was used to measure the enzymatic activity of PSA. SgI and SgII bound Zn2+ with a stoichiometry of at least 10 mol (mol of protein)(-1) and with an average dissociation constant of approx. 5 microM per site. Moreover, Zn2+-inhibited PSA was activated by exposure to SgI or SgII. Since both proteins have high affinity for Zn2+ and are the dominating proteins in semen, they probably represent the major Zn2+ binders in semen, one function of which may be to regulate the activity of PSA. The system is self-regulating, and PSA is maintained in an active state by its substrate.

BRICHOS Domains Efficiently Delay Fibrillation of Amyloid beta-Peptide

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with Aβ protein misfolding and aggregation into fibrils rich in β-sheet structure. Results: BRICHOS domains prevent fibril formation of Aβ far below the stoichiometric ratio. Conclusion: Aβ is maintained as an unstructured monomer in the presence of BRICHOS. Significance: BRICHOS domain can have a natural protective role against Aβ aggregation, which may open new routes toward AD therapy. Amyloid diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, and prion diseases are associated with a specific form of protein misfolding and aggregation into oligomers and fibrils rich in β-sheet structure. The BRICHOS domain consisting of ∼100 residues is found in membrane proteins associated with degenerative and proliferative disease, including lung fibrosis (surfactant protein C precursor; pro-SP-C) and familial dementia (Bri2). We find that recombinant BRICHOS domains from Bri2 and pro-SP-C prevent fibril formation of amyloid β-peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) far below the stoichiometric ratio. Kinetic experiments show that a main effect of BRICHOS is to prolong the lag time in a concentration-dependent, quantitative, and reproducible manner. An ongoing aggregation process is retarded if BRICHOS is added at any time during the lag phase, but it is too late to interfere at the end of the process. Results from circular dichroism and NMR spectroscopy, as well as analytical size exclusion chromatography, imply that Aβ is maintained as an unstructured monomer during the extended lag phase in the presence of BRICHOS. Electron microscopy shows that although the process is delayed, typical amyloid fibrils are eventually formed also when BRICHOS is present. Structural BRICHOS models display a conserved array of tyrosine rings on a five-stranded β-sheet, with inter-hydroxyl distances suited for hydrogen-bonding peptides in an extended β-conformation. Our data imply that the inhibitory mechanism is reliant on BRICHOS interfering with molecular events during the lag phase.

The Major Bactericidal Activity of Human Seminal Plasma Is Zinc-Dependent and Derived from Fragmentation of the Semenogelins

One of the major roles of seminal plasma is to provide antimicrobial protection for the spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract. We found that the bactericidal activity of seminal plasma was highest after resolution of the seminal clot and that this antibacterial activity subsequently became greatly diminished. The antibacterial activity was derived from peptides generated by fragmentation of the semenogelins while the semenogelin holoproteins displayed no antibacterial activity. After ejaculation the semenogelin-derived peptides were fragmented to smaller and smaller fragments over time and thereby lost antibacterial activity. This paralleled the loss of antibacterial activity of whole seminal plasma both in vitro and after sexual intercourse. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of the semenogelin-derived peptides generated in seminal plasma was strictly zinc-dependent both at neutral and low pH. These data provide novel roles for the resolution of seminal clots and for the high zinc concentration in human seminal plasma.

Quantification of the Concentration of Aβ42 Propagons during the Lag Phase by an Amyloid Chain Reaction Assay

The aggregation of the amyloid beta peptide, Aβ42, implicated in Alzheimers disease, is characterized by a lag phase followed by a rapid growth phase. Conventional methods to study this reaction are not sensitive to events taking place early in the lag phase promoting the assumption that only monomeric or oligomeric species are present at early stages and that the lag time is defined by the primary nucleation rate only. Here we exploit the high sensitivity of chemical chain reactions to the reagent composition to develop an assay which improves by 2 orders of magnitude the detection limit of conventional bulk techniques and allows the concentration of fibrillar Aβ42 propagons to be detected and quantified even during the lag time. The method relies on the chain reaction multiplication of a small number of initial fibrils by secondary nucleation on the fibril surface in the presence of monomeric peptides, allowing the quantification of the number of initial propagons by comparing the multiplication reaction kinetics with controlled seeding data. The quantitative results of the chain reaction assay are confirmed by qualitative transmission electron microscopy analysis. The results demonstrate the nonlinearity of the aggregation process which involves both primary and secondary nucleation events even at the early stages of the reaction during the lag-phase.

High Resolution Structural Characterization of A beta(42) Amyloid Fibrils by Magic Angle Spinning NMR

The presence of amyloid plaques composed of amyloid beta (Aβ) fibrils is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Aβ peptide is present as several length variants with two common alloforms consisting of 40 and 42 amino acids, denoted Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42, respectively. While there have been numerous reports that structurally characterize fibrils of Aβ1–40, very little is known about the structure of amyloid fibrils of Aβ1–42, which are considered the more toxic alloform involved in AD. We have prepared isotopically 13C/15N labeled AβM01–42 fibrils in vitro from recombinant protein and examined their 13C–13C and 13C–15N magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra. In contrast to several other studies of Aβ fibrils, we observe spectra with excellent resolution and a single set of chemical shifts, suggesting the presence of a single fibril morphology. We report the initial structural characterization of AβM01–42 fibrils utilizing 13C and 15N shift assignments of 38 of the 43 residues, including the backbone and side chains, obtained through a series of cross-polarization based 2D and 3D 13C–13C, 13C–15N MAS NMR experiments for rigid residues along with J-based 2D TOBSY experiments for dynamic residues. We find that the first ∼5 residues are dynamic and most efficiently detected in a J-based TOBSY spectrum. In contrast, residues 16–42 are easily observed in cross-polarization experiments and most likely form the amyloid core. Calculation of ψ and φ dihedral angles from the chemical shift assignments indicate that 4 β-strands are present in the fibril’s secondary structure.

Role of aromatic side chains in amyloid β-protein aggregation.

Aggregation of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) is believed to be involved in Alzheimers disease pathogenesis. Here we have investigated the importance of the aromatic rings at positions 19 and 20 for the aggregation rate and mechanism by substituting phenylalanine with leucine. Aggregation kinetics were monitored as a function of time and peptide concentration by thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence, the aggregation equilibrium by sedimentation assay, structural changes using circular dichroism spectroscopy and the presence of fibrillar material was detected with cryo-transmission electron microscopy. All peptides convert from monomer to amyloid fibrils in a concentration-dependent manner. Substituting F19 with leucine results in a peptide that aggregates significantly slower than the wild type, while substitution of F20 produces a peptide that aggregates faster. The effects of the two substitutions are additive, since simultaneous substitution of F19 and F20 produces a peptide with aggregation kinetics intermediate between F19L and F20L. Our results suggest that the aromatic side-chain of F19 favors nucleation of the aggregation process and may be an important target for therapeutic intervention.